Electric transmission lines and distribution stations, especially those of the outdoor variety and substation classification, are especially exposed to and vulnerable by voltage surges, transients and atmospheric discharges, including those caused directly and indirectly by lightning.
Various methods, means and devices are known to protect electric distribution systems and transmission lines and equipment supplied by them.
In considerable contrast to practices of prior art, the subject invention pertains to a high-voltage type surge eliminator which, when inserted in a series hybrid configuration with an incoming high-voltage transmission line and its ground plane, will arrest and absorb, respectively, any manifestation which would have resulted in power surges, high-voltage transients and momentary overvoltages, selectively and jointly, and which would, if not prevented to exist, damage component parts of the, for example, station supplied by the transmission or distribution line.
This invention can be practiced in at least two operationally equivalent modifications, namely, through a single package containing the three required elements or three individual elements erected in the appropriate physical mutual relationship and in either case, connected with the transmission line at the respective strategic locations.
The high-voltage surge eliminator configuration is capable of intercepting and dissipating, respectively, the energy from any lightning-related surge or from any switching transient entering the station through the thusly protected transmission line interface. It is capable of performing this function repeatedly without failure or loss of service occurring as a consequence of these anomalies. In addition thereto, the eliminator configurations do not generate any significant transients in the process of their normal operation.
The eliminator configurations bar the possibility of the passage of any of these potentially damaging transient phenomena into the transmission and distribution stations, respectively.
The component parts of the herein described high-voltage type surge eliminator configurations are designed to resist the effect of weather and other ambient conditions and are capable of providing trouble-free operation for a period of at least ten years.
The eliminator configurations lend themselves for straightforward installation with planned substation layouts as well as for the respective modifications of existing substations.
Further features and advantages of the subject improvement will become more apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing.